Escambia County schools agree to end race-based selection criteria in extracurricular activities

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an out-of-court agreement with the Escambia County School District to end the use of race-based criteria for homecoming courts and other student activities in two of the district's high schools.

Escambia County High had permitted students to elect two homecoming queens and two homecoming attendants, one African-American and one not. W.S. Neal had a similar practice for election to its Valentine’s Day courts.

The use of race-based selection and election criteria in public schools’ extracurricular activities, including homecoming courts, proms and similar activities, is prohibited by Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars public school districts, colleges and universities from discriminating against students on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or religion.

The Escambia County Board of Education voluntarily adopted a district-wide non-discrimination policy that ends the use of race-based election and selection for extracurricular activities in order to resolve Justice Department concerns.

“We commend the Escambia County Board of Education for acting swiftly to abolish the use of race in student activities and to ensure that no student is denied participation in any extracurricular activity based on race,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “It is time for the once common practice of segregating students by race in school activities to come to an end.”

As part of the agreement, parents will be notified of changes to student election procedures and the school board will be required to provide compliance reports to the Justice Department for the next year.